karen hultzer is a 46yo south african archer who came in 46th
of 64 competing athletes [she's been shooting for only five years],
& then came out as a lesbian.
noting that she waited until post-competition
to avoid distraction due to media attention,
hultzer issued a simple yet eloquent statement:
"i am an archer, middle-aged & a lesbian.
i am also cranky before my first cup of coffee.
none of these aspects define who i am,
they are simply part of me.
"i am fortunate that my sexual identity is not an issue,
& i don't suffer the level of discrimination & violence
that black lesbians in south africa do.
"i look forward to the day when this is a non-issue
& as relevant as my eye color or favorite sushi."
hultzer's announcement made her the only out olympian
competing from the african continent, & a rarity
among all olympic athletes;
the gay website outsports.com tried to count how many
of the 10,500 or so competing olympians were openly gay.
it came up with only 23.
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